Opening Night Supper kicks off 2012 Mule Days

Every family has its own traditions, and the large extended family that makes up the Bishop Mule Days Celebration is no exception. There is one difference, though. When Mule Days calls its family together for dinner, it needs an auditorium.

The Charles Brown Auditorium to be exact – one of the largest meeting facilities in Bishop. Somehow, that fact makes it all the more fitting as the Bishop Mule Days Opening Night Supper is nothing short of a reunion, and it’s the event newcomers and veterans alike don’t want to miss.

Planned out by Chairman Annie Jenkins and her committee along with local caterer Michelle Denault and her staff, the Supper, set for Wednesday, May 23, 5 p.m. is part event kick-off, part family dinner and part cowboy concert.

“In reality most people have been on grounds for two or three days before the Opening Night Supper,” explains Barbara Laughon, Media Relations Chairman, “but there’s something formalizing about that dinner. People whose paths may never cross outside of Mule Days are suddenly back in the same room, picking up right where they left off, and as for the newcomers, they find themselves thrust into a reunion of the best of friends. It’s the perfect place for them because they will learn more about Mule Days and Bishop in that room than anywhere else.”

And, naturally, as with all things Bishop Mule Days, there is more.

Singer-songwriter Dave Stamey, five-time Western Music Association (WMA) Male Performer of the Year, will headline the concert portion of the Opening Night Supper.

A long-time favorite of Bishop Mule Days visitors, Stamey continues to earn accolades from all corners of the Western genre. He was twice named Entertainer of the Year and Songwriter of the Year by the WMA. He earned the prestigious Will Rogers Award from the Academy of Western Artists. Plus Western media just can’t get enough of Stamey’s talents with the three of the top Western magazines singing his praises. Cowboys and Indians call him “the Charley Russell of Western Music” while Western Horsemandeclared his Vaquero Song “one of the greatest Western songs of all time.” True Westmagazine declared him the “Best Living Western Solo Musician.”

Yet Stamey remains the humble man many Mule Days visitors met more than a decade ago. “Dave Stamey is an amazing talent whose success comes from singing and writing about a way of life that he has lived and loved,” Laughon said. “People can tell he’s the real thing from the moment he takes the stage, and in a world where many artists hide behind manufactured facades, Dave Stamey is honestly refreshing.”

Tickets for this event sell out quickly. Call (760) 872-4263 for tickets or additional information.